BP has cancelled its joint venture with Rio Tinto to build a coal-fired power plant and capture and store the carbon dioxide emissions underground in Australia. The project had been planned for a number of years, but was derailed due to the fact that the geologic formations where the CO2 would be stored were not suitable for long term storage. In a statement BP said, "We wanted to be absolutely certain we had the right geology before we went ahead, because this would be the first project and would be a proof of concept."
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Wisconsin Governor Doyle (D) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Wisconsin and the United Kingdom on climate change issues. The two will work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop low carbon technologies. Governor Doyle said, "The environmental and economic consequences of climate change and our dependence on fossil fuels affect everyone and our collaboration with the United Kingdom can only do more to generate new technologies, new businesses and new jobs for our citizens, and a cleaner and safer world for generations to come."
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May 12, 2008 4:45 PM | Posted by Patrick Greissing | Topic(s): Energy Policy
In a speech that distances himself from the Bush administration, presidential hopeful John McCain announced what his climate change policy would be, if he were elected. In his speech, he outlined a cap-and-trade program that has very similar emission reduction goals to that of the current Lieberman-Warner legislation. The greenhouse gas targets are to return to 2005 levels by 2012, to return to 1990 levels by 2020 and, by 2050, to be 60 percent below 1990 levels. Also, he spoke of nuclear energy as an “ally” in the fight against global warming. He said:
“We have 104 nuclear reactors in our country, generating about twenty percent of our electricity. These reactors alone spare the atmosphere from about 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that would otherwise be released every year. That’s the annual equivalent of nearly all emissions from all the cars we drive in America. Europe, for its part, has 197 reactors in operation, and nations including France and Belgium derive more than half their electricity from nuclear power. Those good practices contribute to the more than two billion metric tons of carbon dioxide avoided every year, worldwide, because of nuclear energy. It doesn't take a leap in logic to conclude that if we want to arrest global warming, then nuclear energy is a powerful ally in that cause."
McCain also makes clear that he wants the United States to be a leader in fighting global warming by getting major emitters China and India to reduce their emissions as well. He said, "I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges. I will not accept the same dead-end of failed diplomacy that claimed Kyoto. The United States will lead and I will lead with a different approach — an approach that speaks to the interests and obligations of every nation."
For the complete text of the speech go to: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/News/Speeches/0b381abd-e573-459d-8716-fbd83ab62d8d.htm
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May 12, 2008 12:55 PM | Posted by Patrick Greissing | Topic(s): Energy Policy
On Friday, presidential candidate John McCain hinted that he will be supporting the Lieberman-Warner climate change legislation. At a speech in Atlantic City, New Jersey, McCain told the crowd, "I hope it will pass, and I hope the entire Congress will join in supporting it and the president of the United States will sign it." Some expect the full support of the legislation will be given at a speech today in Portland, Oregon. The speech will detail what climate change policy would be under a McCain administration. The speech is expected to focus on a cap-and-trade program.
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Duke Energy's coal-gasification plant in Edwardsport, Indiana, will receive $1 million in funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) to research the possibility of storing carbon dioxide emissions from the plant. The funding is part of the $61 million the DOE gave to the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership. Jim Stanley, president of Duke Energy in Indiana, said, "Our goal is to make this one of the nation's first demonstrations of the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide from a power plant."
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At a hearing late last week to discuss FutureGen, Sen. Dorgan (D-ND) made it clear that, whether FutureGen happens or not, the coal industry must receive funding for clean coal projects. During the hearing, he said, "FutureGen or not, in order for us work through this climate change and energy intersection we have come to, we have to use coal." He hopes to do so through the Clean Coal Power Initiative. This initiative, created by President Bush in 2002, focuses on decreasing sulfur, nitrogen and mercury emissions from current coal fired plants and increasing efficiency.
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In January, the Department of Energy announced it was restructuring the FutureGen Project into several smaller demonstration projects. The original demonstration project was to be built in Illinois and, now with the help of Sen. Durbin (D-IL), it still might be. Sen. Durbin plans to attach an amendment to the fiscal 2008 supplemental spending bill that would require the DOE to continue on with the original project. Whether he is successful in his efforts or not, at least now there remains the possibility for the original FutureGen to be built in Mattoon, IL.
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Yesterday, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced its requirements for the restructured FutureGen project. The DOE press release announcing the plans reads:
The restructured approach aims to accelerate the near-term
deployment of advanced clean coal technology by equipping
new IGCC or other clean coal commercial power plants -
that generate at least 300 megawatts of power - with CCS
technology and, with multiple projects funded, is expected
to at least double the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2)
sequestered compared to the concept announced in 2003.
Department of Energy undersecretary Bud Albright believes that this new design will be a faster way to go, and that the DOE never considered returning to the original concept of a single demonstration project. Not everyone agrees with the new DOE approach—among them, Paul Thompson, chairman of the FutureGen Alliance. He believes the market for clean coal plants has changed, but not for the better. He believes many of the proposed low emission coal plants that have been proposed will end up not being built due to cost uncertainties.
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With the Senate floor debate of S.2191 about three weeks away, it appears that many Senators, including the bill's sponsors, are doubtful the bill will get to the 60 vote mark in the Senate. Senator Boxer (D – CA), Chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, who has been working behind the scenes in an effort to get to the 60 vote mark, said, "To tell you the truth, we don't know if we'll wind up getting 60 votes this time." A manager's amendment to the legislation is expected to be released early next week. There could potentially be several changes from the original legislation that passed through committee in December.
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The Department of Energy has awarded a $65.6 million grant to the West Coast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership. The grant will go towards a carbon sequestration project in Lodi, California. The DOE also awarded $61 million to the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership for a project in Ohio. Both of these projects will inject one million tons or more of carbon dioxide into different formations. In a DOE press release, Acting Deputy Secretary of Energy Jeffrey Kupfer said, "The formations to be tested during the third phase of the partnerships program are the most promising of the major geologic basins in the United States. Collectively, these formations have the potential to store more than 100 hundred years of CO2 emissions from all major point sources in North America."
To view the press release, go to <http://www.doe.gov/news/6231.htm>.
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